1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a process for making a stitchbonded fabric. More particularly, the invention concerns such a process in which a feed material having a readily visible surface pattern is multi-needle stitched and then contracted to provide a stitchbonded fabric having a surface pattern that is different from the surface pattern on the feed material.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Processes and machines for making stitchbonded fabrics are known. Typically, stitchbonded fabrics are made feeding a fibrous material to a multi-needle stitching machine and then stitching the fibrous material with one or more stitching thread systems. Many different kinds of fibrous materials have been employed as feed materials to produce stitchbonded fabrics. Such feed materials include carded webs, thin felts, spunlace fabrics, spunbonded nonwoven sheets, woven or knit fabrics, paper and the like made from various natural and synthetic organic staple fibers or continuous filaments. More recently, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/903,805 disclosed coated fabrics, films, foils, leather and combinations of such materials with various fibrous layers as being suitable feed materials for making stitchbonded fabrics.
Known processes for making stitchbonded fabrics typically include the steps of (a) feeding a fibrous material to a stitchbonding machine; (b) threading a multi-needle bar of the stitchbonding machine with stitching threads; (c) inserting the stitching thread into the fibrous material to form spaced apart rows of interconnected stitches, (d) removing the thusly formed stitchbonded fabric from the stitchbonding machine; and (e) optionally subjecting the stitchbonded fabric to further finishing operations, such as dyeing, shrinking, heat setting, molding, coating, impregnating and the like.
Among the stitching threads that have been employed in stitchbonding operations are yarns of natural fibers (e.g., cotton, wool), fibers or filaments of fully drawn, crystalline polymers (e.g., nylon, polyester), fibers of partially molecularly oriented synthetic organic polymer; and threads of spandex, or of other elastic or elastomeric materials. Use of elastic stitching thread, with or without an accompanying non-elastic thread, is disclosed in several patents. Similar use of stitching thread that is shrinkable also has been disclosed. For example, Zafiroglu, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,876,128, 4,773,238, 4,737,394 and 4,704,321 disclose processes for making bulky and/or stretchy stitchbonded fabrics with various contractible and conventional threads. According to the processes disclosed in these patents, the stitchbonded fabric, upon removal from the multi-needle stitching operation, is allowed or caused to shrink and gather and undergo a significant reduction in fabric area.
To date, the character and appearance of known stitchbonded fabrics has depended mainly on the particular types of stitching yarns, the patterns of stitches formed by the stitching yarns, the amount of shrinkage or contraction and other finishing steps used in the manufacture of the fabrics. These known stitchbonded fabrics have been used successfully in a wide variety of products. However, most stitchbonded fabrics typically have a monotone appearance. The value of stitchbonded fabrics could be enhanced significantly, if while retaining tactile aesthetics and other desirable characteristics, different surface patterns and styling effects could be formed in the fabric during the stitchbonding and contracting process steps.